Support it with a contribution!
Thank you for using this forecast. Writing it takes 60-120 minutes a day; I can only keep it going with your generous financial support. Make a contribution or subscribe and get it in your inbox with bonus material. What’s that cost? Not $99 a year. Nope. Not $49. Contribute $19.99 or more, and you’re on the list for a year. People are added to this list on Thursday and Sunday. Thanks for your patience! Click below to contribute and keep the forecast going for everyone, nearly every day.
Click here to use your PayPal
Venmo: @theGorgeismyGym
Snail Mail: Temira Lital, PO Box 841, Hood River, Oregon 97031
(note: I am not a non-profit entity. The only way to accept credit cards with a user-defined amount is to use the ‘donate’ button. Thanks for understanding!)
Auto-renewing subscription. New! Awesome!
The Forecast
| 4a-8a | 8a-12p | 12p-4p | 4p-8p | 8p-4a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 1500′ |
 |
|
|
 |
|
| Friday 1500′->4000′ |
|
|
|
|
|
| Saturday 4000′->5500′->1500′ |
|
 |
|
|
|
Mt. Hood Weather Forecast
We’re right on the edge of full-on winter weather for the mountains this morning, and we’ll tip over the cliff with today’s weather system. Friday will be on the calm side, but Saturday sure won’t; a powerful cold front swings through dumping snow and (probably) a period of mixed precip on the slopes. That’ll be enough to get Timberline and Meadows open. Skibowl tubing should open up, but it’s unclear yet if they’ll have enough snow for lift-serve by the end of the weekend. FYI: Meadows just told me they are probably going to shut down hiking/uphill traffic after today. If you are hoping to hike for turns on Friday, check their website before you drive.
It’s mighty chilly up on the slopes this morning. Temps have dropped into the teens and 20’s, and the snow guns are blowing. Cat drivers are gathering up snow and building lift ramps. More snow is forecast today. The snow level will be 1500′ or so all day near Mt. Hood as the 850mb temp hovers around -5C. About 0.4-0.6” water equivalent (WE) is forecast today, for 4-7” powder. Another 0.4-0.5” WE is forecast tonight, for 4-6” more. Wind will be WNW 25-30 in the morning, W 35 in the afternoon, and WNW 30-35 overnight.
A brief break early Friday gives way to snowfall mid-morning (or earlier). The snow level will be 1500′ in the morning, 3000′ in the afternoon, and 4000′ overnight. About 0.3” WE is forecast during the day for 3” new. Another 0.3” WE is forecast overnight for 2-3” denser snow. Wind: WNW 30-35 all day. As the next system approaches, the wind turns to WSW 20-40 in the evening and builds to WSW 30-60 overnight.
Saturday’s system taps into tropical moisture and strong wind. Extremely heavy snowfall is predicted along with a likely period of mixed precipitation mid-morning Saturday. The snow level will be 4000′ and rising at sunrise, 5000′-5500′ mid-morning, 4000′ in the afternoon, and down to 2000′ overnight. About 1.6” WE is forecast during the day. That’ll fall as dense, heavy snow, for perhaps 8-14” with a period of mixed precip possible between 7am and 1pm. Temps drop overnight, and another 1.4” WE falls as snow. Call that 11-14”. Wind: SW 30-40 during the day (gusts in the 80-100 range are possible way up high) turning to W 30 after the front passes in the evening. Note: SW wind is not great for orographic assistance. Snowfall is unlikely to exceed model predictions. Snowfall tapers off on Sunday with sun breaks possible. Just a trace of snow is forecast during the day with another trace overnight. The snow level will be 2000′ in the morning and 3000-3500′ in the afternoon. Wind will be W 30 early, WSW 25-30 mid-morning, SW 15-30 in the afternoon, and SE 15 after midnight. Next week looks cooler with intermittent light snowfall. Hello ski season. Nice to see you!
Gorge Wind Forecast
Onshore flow continues for the next few days with a couple chances to get on the river. Thursday starts with westerlies at 10-13 or so all through the Gorge. From mid-morning on, the wind picks up to gusty 21-24 east of The Dalles with Viento possible too. River flow is 165kcfs, river temp is 48F, and high temp forecast is 43F. Friday starts with westerlies at 5-10 all through the Gorge. Midday wind rises to gusty 17-23 east of The Dalles. In the afternoon, the wind drops near zero in the central gorge and falls to gusty 10-15 out east and also west of Bonneville Dam. High temp: 44F. Saturday sees a strong and very rainy frontal system swing through. The wind can be very unpredictable with this type of system. It looks like we’ll see gusty 20-30 west of Bonneville, nearly-calm wind in the central Gorge, and gusty 20-30 east of Arlington or perhaps east of Biggs. High temp: 45F.
Coast, Jones, Coast
Done until spring, unless there’s an obvious Coast or Sauvie’s or Jones day.
Hood River Weather Forecast
Drizzle sticks around all day. Temps will be in the low 40’s all day. Moderate westerlies. 99% chance of rainbows. Friday will be intermittently drizzly with dry periods possible. Temps will be in the low-mid 30’s early and mid 40’s later. Moderate westerlies. 99% chance of rainbows. Saturday looks very, very rainy. Temps will be in the mid 30’s early and mid 40’s later. Light westerlies. 2% chance of rainbows.
Looking for a complete Columbia Gorge forecast? Looking for more humor in your weather? Obscenities? You’re looking for my TATAS: Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.
Cycling
FREEZE-THAW ALERT: if you notice that temps were below freezing last night and will be above freezing today, don’t ride any trail that’s not under a tree canopy. If you do so, you WILL do significant damage. DON’T DO IT! Plentiful rain recently means most tree-covered trails are muddy. Please don’t ride them either. If you do, you’ll be doing significant and possibly permanent damage. No really, please don’t. There are lots of gravel roads and lots of pavement you can ride instead. Enjoy!
Local Events
Please let me know about events. I often only hear about them if you folx let me know!
Sprinter Van of the Week!
Click here for the Sprinter Van map of the world!!!
Have an awesome day!
